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Manuka Honey MGO and UMF Ratings Compared

Most genuine high-grade manuka honey from New Zealand includes a UMF rating on the label. Some honey producers instead use an MG or MGO rating. Honeys without a UMF or MG/MGO rating are generally low-grade honey without the beneficial characteristics that have made premium manuka honey so much in demand.

NPA stands for non-peroxide activity, the property that makes certain grades of UMF and MGO manuka honey special. Those manuka honeys that carry only a ‘total activity’ or ‘peroxide activity’ rating do not have this special NPA property and should be considered low-grade honey.

UMF ratings are based on specific natural markers characteristic of manuka honey, such as leptosperin and methylglyoxal. UMF ratings correspond to the potency of the desirable NPA properties of honey. Typically honey with NPA between 5 and 9.9 are labelled UMF 5+, honey with NPA ratings between 10.0 and 14.9 are rated UMF 10+, and so on.

MGO is methylglyoxal, sometimes referred to as MG.

Use this table to convert between manuka honey UMF, MGO and NPA ratings.

If your honey label shows the trademarked UMF symbol and/or carries a UMF rating, then it will have been lab-tested for the markers that identify genuine manuka honey, including the unique-to-manuka leptosperin compound and the methylglyoxal (MGO) content.

If your honey label shows an MGO rating and is from New Zealand, then there’s a good chance it is genuine, although it may not have had the full suite of UMF certifications.

If your honey shows neither UMF nor MGO then it is more likely a low-grade honey blend which might have a little bit of manuka honey in it, or might not.

Your honey showing +12, that might be a so-called “total activity” rating, which isn’t much use when it comes to genuine manuka honey, because any old table honey probably has “total activity.” Total activity is, unfortunately, misleadingly and confusingly, often used to present low-grade honey blends to look as though they are equivalent to genuine high-grade manuka honey.

Be suspicious of any honey jar that mentions ‘total activity’. Regulations in New Zealand prohibit the use of the term “total activity” on honey labels.

You mention that your other honey has a KFactor 16 rating. According to the Wedderspoon website, KFactor is a measure of the pollen count in honey. Scientists have for at least 3 or 4 years strongly advised against using pollen count to measure manuka honey. Why? There are several reasons.

Firstly, honey isn’t made from pollen, it’s made from nectar.
Secondly, manuka flowers do not produce much pollen.
Thirdly, manuka pollen is almost indistinguishable from other types of pollen such as kanuka pollen. Kanuka is a similar-looking New Zealand tree but its nectar and honey does not have the same special attributes as manuka honey.
Fourthly, as New Zealand beekeepers have often pointed out, bees do not like manuka pollen. They’ll collect manuka nectar, and if they need pollen they’ll visit other types of trees (such as kanuka).

The consequence is that, for manuka honey, a honey rating based on pollen count isn’t actually measuring what’s in the honey. For manuka honey, a KFactor rating is no more useful than a total activity rating.

In summary, genuine manuka honey will show either a methylglyoxal (MGO) content or a UMF rating. The UMF rating is the more complete certification of genuine manuka honey because it covers MGO and a variety of other tests based on the latest science.

Honey without either UMF or MGO on its label? Probably not the real thing.

Kristina, thank you for your post. If you could send more information about your honey, such as a link to where it’s available online or a photo of its label, someone might be able to identify it. “M 30+” is not a rating generally used in New Zealand, which suggests that it’s not a UMF-grade honey, and is more likely to be a low-grade blend of bush honeys.

Hello Kristina I have never seen 30+ manuka honey , the conclusion is it is likley MGO = to 2.7 NPA (now known as MGS) or UMF, 2.7 MGS & UMF is different names for the same test, if it is TA then it is not manuka or it is a manuka blend, anything below a 5+ MGS or UMF is not considered active manuka, and is and should be labeled a blend.
china is forcing New zealands MPI to set a new benchmark for testing manuka, so far the DNA testing has not been consistent, so at some point the way manuka is categorized will change, i thing the current testing is working well, and there should be a common grade that all honey companies can use, stop confusing the poor customers and stop the ripoffs selling blends EG 2-5 % of manuka honey in the jar.
UMF hint that there branding is the only genuine manuka rating, MGS Formley NPA is just as genuine.

Yes kristina I have that too and am wondering the same thing it says on the back of the Branwells new Zealand manuka honey that it contains atleast.. 30mg/kg of Methylglyoxal……does anyone know if thats any good?

Brian, thank you for your post. Honey with a methylglyoxal (MG/MGO) content of 30 mg/kg would be a blend of manuka honey, insufficiently concentrated to earn a UMF rating. I would consider it equivalent to other non-UMF honeys sold as manuka or manuka blend, that is, a lower grade than UMF 5+ manuka honey which requires minimum MGO 83.

Gordana, manuka honey with MGO content of 550 mg/kg would be rated UMF 15+, provided it also contained 460mg/kg of leptosperin. Leptosperin is the marker that confirms genuine manuka honey, identified by recent scientific research. UMF 20+ honey would be much more potent, with an MGO content of at least 826mg/kg.

In 2009, scientists at the University of Waikato published research that showed that the methylglyoxal in New Zealand manuka honey originates from the chemical compound dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is present in the nectar of manuka flowers.

The methylglyoxal (MG or MGO) in honey is created over time from the interaction of the dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in the honey with various naturally-occurring proteins and amino acids. All other things being equal, a manuka honey sample with a high DHA concentration has the potential to turn into a manuka honey with higher MGO concentration than a comparable manuka honey sample with a low DHA concentration.

For more information on the chemistry of the DHA to MGO conversion that takes place in manuka honey, you might like to take a look at a recent presentation by Dr. Merilyn Manley- Harris, a leading research scientist in this area.

In summary, you could warm your high-grade manuka honey and that might give you a temporary lift in the MGO concentration by accelerating the DHA-to-MGO process, but if you heat an ordinary honey chances are that all you’ll end up with is warm ordinary honey.

Heating honey speeds the maturing process in honey (like a lot of chemical processes)
fresh Manuka honey will have X amount of METHYLGLYOXAL AKA MGO and X amount of DHA and over a time of 6 months to a year the DHA will drop and the MGO will go up,
so only after a given time frame is the true potential activity MGO reached, if you heat honey to near 100C (BOIL) then in around 1 hour you would have started to caramelize (AKA HMF) the honey, yes burnt sugars are a carcinogen, but soft drink companies can get away with high HMF because it is not considered a food, so if you have unmatured manuka honey ( unlikely as most honey packers will ensure the honey is matured as if it could reach a 10+ and is currently a 5+ then they can only sell it at its actual rating of 5+)
then yes boiling it will mature it, but the honey will fail testing for HMF (over 40),as well as the diastase enzyme will be less than 8, and it will taste like burnt honey, do not boil it.

Hi: the graph of NPA versus MGO that you are displaying appears to be one that I originated using our corrected data from the original Adams et al paper in Carbohydrate Research plus the corrigendum and circulated to some people; it was never actually published as such.
If you send me an EMail to the address below I can send you the original EXCEL document.
interestingly if you plot the square of NPA versus MGO you get a straight line apart from the scatter associated with measuring the well-diffusion result for NPA at very low levels.

Airborne is a honey producer that does not seem to distinguish between kanuka and manuka honey, and given the high value of high-grade manuka honey, chances are that Airborne “manuka honey” could be mostly actually kanuka honey instead.

It is difficult to distinguish the pollens of these two similar-looking types of trees, which is one of the reasons that research scientists concluded that pollen counts should not be used to rate manuka honey.

This 2014 article from one of the major New Zealand newspapers is an example: Warning On Pollen Test, which quotes a leading UK-based scientist as saying, “Pollen analysis is…not fit for purpose.”

In contrast, UMF honey is tested for leptosperin, which is a natural compound unique to manuka honey, and for MGO, which measures its potency.

In summary, there’s no way conversion from a “70+” kanuka/manuka pollen count to a UMF rating, I’m sorry. My best guess, without seeing a lab test result sheet, would be that your jar probably has a high kanuka honey content (rather than manuka), and probably wouldn’t qualify for a UMF rating at all.

The clues that this honey is not high-grade manuka honey are:
– No UMF registered logo.
– No disclosure of MGO content.
– The label uses the terms ‘bio-active’ and ‘activity’ which New Zealand regulations ban from honey labels. This honey label would be illegal in New Zealand.
– The 20+ rating is stated as being the “total activity” and “peroxide activity,” which both of which are inappropriate measures for manuka activity. One of the distinguishing characteristics of genuine manuka honey is non-peroxide activity, the opposite of Manuka Doctor’s measure.

Hi, thanks for all this information about Manuka honey. My question is about the UMF logo please. I’ve been buying the comvita 20+ but the UMF logo looks different? Is there an official logo to know I’m buying the highest medical use honey with best antibacterial/antibiotic quality Manuka honey? Thanks

Hello! My dad is taking Manuka Honey with MGO 550+, plus I would like to give him something stronger in the periods that he is under surgical procedures. He had in the past Klebsiella and pseudomonas, also clostrydium dificilae. I was thinking of 700-800-1000 MGO. UMF 24+ is a good idea?
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hello Silvia
any manuka honey over 15+ has larger quantities of MGO, put it this way if ti was 1000 mgo one teaspoon would equal two teaspoons of 500 mgo, but anything under 15+ in my option, is not worth taking for medical purpose. if you want it sterile then low APC etc medical honey is available.

I recently have had a very persistent cough myself. I took Manuka Honey with UMF 10+ or MGO 550+ morning 1 teaspoon and at night 1 teaspoon (you can also take it 3 times a day). I also ate lots of onions, raw and cooked – mix some in a salad or do a sauté with garlic and your vegetable of choice, broccoli, carrots, green beans, etc. You can also make onion soup for your son. Cut up a piece of onion and put it on a tissue and have him breath in the onion deeply throughout the whole day. You can put pieces of cut onion in a bowl by his bed side while he sleeps. His cough will get better within a week or 2 or perhaps even sooner! Good luck.

I purchased two units, each of 500g “Australian by Nature” Brand Manuka Honey 16+, MGO 600 (Methylglyoxal 600mg /1 kg) at Brisbane Airport Duty Free Shop before catching an outbound flight to overseas. The package has printed words of “Product of New Zealand”. Is this genuine manuka honey and if so what is its UMF equivalent, please? I am a little confused by its brand name (Australian by Nature) as opposed to the claim of “Product of New Zealand. I would appreciate more information on this brand/product please. Thank you.

Yes it is Genuine 16+ MGS = 16+ UMF,,, 600mg / 1kg = 600 MGO
it is packed by watson and son
ABN is there brand name, and yes it would seem strange to have a new zealand product in a ABN brand, but it is good nz manuka honey.

Interesting posts. I remember when my husband had an open wound in the crook of his elbow that wouldn’t heal. He’d had a skin cancer removed. After 1 week with no sign of improvement I bought medical grade Manuka honey from the chemist. Can’t remember brand or strength. The wound healed in 3 days.

I would like to know if possible where I could buy Manuka honey in Adelaide that has a high rating of UMF.
My friend was buying one from the local health food shops with a rating of 20+ UMF. But hasn’t been able to get it for a while now. They have Manuka Hiney product from NZ but only MGO.
Her Husband was having the UMF Manuka as he has been on antibiotics for 6 years about some infection in his blood, which causes these pimples to break out over his body. When he was having just a spoon a day of the UMF Manuka Honey these pimples were disappearing to next to nothing and he stopped all antibiotics with such improvements she kept buying the UMF till she couldn’t get it anymore. Now they are only selling MGO Manuka Home and the highest rating is 100, which has no affects whatsoever.
We would be grateful if we could find where to buy the UMF Manuka Honey if you know where.
Thank you for any help or advise you could offer us.

Any honey with UMF MGO MGS on ther label, 15-25+ Or 550 MGO or higher is considered high strength,
Brands— ABN, Watson & Son, Manuka health, Comveta, google UMF – MGO – MGS or MG honey and the good brands should show up. Manuka Med have medical honey in tube form

Hello. Just bought 225gm manuka from ALDI in Switzerland that has been imported via http://www.honigmayr.at , states it is 263+but no tracable scan code to find out where it’s from like on my NZbought Manuka. How do we trust the label. I have a pic but no way here of sending it to you.

Honeys carrying the UMF trade mark logo will have undergone extensive testing and production audits and can be trusted as being true to source and true to label.

Not all New Zealand manuka honey producers are members of the UMF trade association, and if you have a manuka honey without a UMF logo, then I suggest contacting the producer so that you can form your own opinion.

Any honey with UMF MGO MGS on ther label, 15-25+ Or 550 MGO or higher is considered high strength,
Brands— ABN, Watson & Son, Manuka health, Comveta, google UMF – MGO – MGS or MG honey and the good brands should show up. Manuka Med have medical honey in tubes.

Lulu, I can recommend the manuka honey brands represented by ExportX; Happy Valley, Wild Cape, Manukora, and Taku Honey. These are available in the USA, UK, Germany and through other Amazon marketplaces in Europe.

I have a question: I recently came across a honey sold locally in SE QLD with a label saying “Australian Honey”, “Manuka Honey”, “100% Australian Honey” and also with the figures “NPA 15+” and “MGO 570+”. It also contains the standard nutritional information per serving. However there is no apparent brand name. Can I be confident that the honey is genuine and the ratings are as they say (knowing that Australian food labelling is generally pretty strictly controlled)?

Is this the Biohoney product range you are meaning?https://www.biohoneynz.co.nz/product-category/pure-nz-honey-range
It looks as though the Biohoney manuka honeys carries only an MGO rating, which means it probably has not undergone the extensive UMF tests and audits, but you can probably assume that the standard MGO-to-UMF conversion will give you an indication of its equivalent grade.

HI Paul, thanks for your reply. Yes, I am referring to your link for biohoney. In your opinion, how reliable or how authentic is their manuka honey or generally for global honey based on MGO rating only?

Under the new marker testing now required for all Manuka packed in New Zealand, as a general but not absolute rule, honey around and below 200 MGO- 8+ UMF or MGS will more than likely fail the Manuka mono floral requirements, and honey rates lower than this will fall into the catorgory of multi floral Manuka, and at a given marker level it will not qualify for any type of Manuka grading.eg 70 MGO 4+ UMF – MGS.
Hope this helps

My daughter is suffering from a skin condition called molluscum contagiosum. I was wanting to try this on it as nothing else has worked. There is not an open wound just many papules on the skin. Does anyone know how to make a honey dressing or where I can buy a good grade/ brand?

Cloris Schmidt: Unfortunately Manuka honey is a natural antibiotic (agent acting against bacterial infections) and molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection. So I doubt that honey will have much of an effect other than a soothing one. There are no known cures for any viral infections (which include the common cold, cold sores, herpes and AIDS, among many others). Some of these, such as AIDS, can be devastating, but many, such as the common cold, are simply overcome in due course by the body itself. There do exist some topical treatments for some of these viral manifestations such as salicylic acid (for warts and associated disorders) and acyclovir ointment (for cold sores etc.). Both are normally available as over-the-counter medications.

Very good info and helpful responses to comments.
Is there a discernible difference between a New Zealand Manuka with an MGO of 830+ and an Australian Manuka with an MGO of 830+, I mean both generally and in terms of health benefits.

“TA” likely stands for “total activity.” This is a rating that in my experience would never be used on genuine manuka honey. It is, however, often used on low grade honey blends that don’t qualify for genuine manuka ratings. Personally I avoid all honey that uses ‘total activity’ because it is almost always low-grade product being marketed in a misleading way, and I would not trust any brand using ‘total activity’.

The background is that any old table honey includes some level of peroxide, which is typically what is being measured by ‘total activity.’ This peroxide activity isn’t a big deal. In contrast, one of the characteristics that makes New Zealand manuka honey special is that, unlike other honeys, it has ‘non-peroxide activity’ which is the activity that remains after the peroxide activity has dissipated. It is this non-peroxide activity, amongst other things, which is measured by a UMF rating.

Hello Negreanu
TA is total activity, peroxide activity is included in the test, it has little to do with Manuka.
summary it may be a very low grade Manuka blend, with very very small amounts of Manuka, or it may not have any Manuka.

Happy Valley is a longstanding, high quality and very reliable brand, based in Drury, just south of Auckland, in New Zealand.
Happy Valley’s UMF 20+ honey is rarely available due to limited supply. A good alternative is the Happy Valley UMF 18+ manuka honey, which is available on Amazon in the USA and Europe.

First check if it is specifically UMF 5+ honey. It’s the presence of the UMF logo that is your certification of genuine manuka honey and a true rating.
Assuming it is UMF 5+ honey that you’ve purchased, then 35oz is approximately 1kg, that’s a large jar. Yes it will be a blend, honey at a UMF 5+ rating will include some manuka and some honey from other nectars. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
On the question of price, your Costco price seems a good deal, if it’s genuine UMF 5+ honey. Your alternatives on Amazon.com in the USA would includeHappy Valley UMF 5+ 1kg, currenlty at about $45 (delivered), or Comvita UMF 5+ which is in the same price range.

I just bought Pure Gold Premium Select Manuka Honey MGO 300 from Holland and Baratte for my 6 year old daughter who siffers from frequent colds, coughs and wheezing. Please advice as to whether the MGO level is sufficient and dosage I should give? I dont know anything at all about this product so would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Hi,
I have a jar of Manuka honey Gold from Manuka health New Zealand. On my jar there is no MGO,UMF,factor etc.
It’s says: each bach contains a minimum of 400* MG/KG Methyglycoxal or 6 mg per 15 g serving.
could you tell me please what MGO,UMF my honey does?
Is it safe to take internally( reason is I heard that some manuka honey should be used only on your skin)?
Thank you